VoK Prompts

Prompt S7 - Choose a song, and write or draw an in-depth breakdown of how it applies to your lion and their life, story, relationship,ect. Lyrics do not count towards word minimum.
Word Count - 1000/1000 + 1000/1000 +356
Points: 4 + 4

Song: Fight on, Fighter by for KING & COUNTRY

(I just want to preface by saying that this is probably my worst piece of writing yet. Proceed with caution)

The night was dark; Umuso’s soul a flame just starting to flicker. The draught had done its damage, and the den was quiet with the weight of it. A lion, once strong and majestic, now reduced to dingy fur clinging to frail bones. Each breath was a fight. He had sacrificed so much for his wife, for his offspring, but the draught had lasted too long. The mother had lived, but only one cub had been born with life, and hardly at that. Now, this grief was the last straw, and the father fought no longer. The mother was too weak to even acknowledge her living son. Thus, Umuso knew nothing else other than caring for others, but there is still only so much a cub can do.

The grief was as hard on Umuso’s mother as the draught was on their family. Umuso was small and helpless, the world so big and strange. Umuso found himself alone with no pride to watch over him, and no companions to support him. He nursed his mother dry, then fully realized the impact of the draught. Even on his mother’s good days, there was nothing for her to catch. They were both going to starve, and they both knew it.

One night, while Umuso’s mother fought away nightmares in a fitful, feverish sleep, Umuso snuck out. He was a lion, he could do this… right? All he knew was that he had to do something; he couldn’t just sit around and wait for death to take them both. He wandered for hours through woods and over hills, so focused on his task that soon he lost his sense of direction, as any cub would. He was lost and alone, but when wasn’t he? As he spun in a slow circle, trying to get his bearings, he saw it. A small flicker of motion, just above him on the hill he was descended. He froze, instincts kicking in and accompanied with nervous excitement. This was his chance.

The instant he saw the tall ears poke skyward through the grass, he pounced.

And missed.

The rabbit ran. Fast. But Umuso wasn’t going to give up that easily.

Umuso tracked that rabbit like a homing missile, and, to his credit, he was never far enough behind to lose hope. The rabbit also appeared to be young and lost with no where to hide, and soon Umuso even began to gain on the rabbit. The rabbit began losing steam just as Umuso was, and in a final attempt, Umuso leapt again.

Before he even knew what happened, the panicked rabbit was below him, wild eyes wide and struggling. Now it was Umuso’s turn to panic. He hadn’t thought this far. He caught the rabbit, but now he had to kill the poor thing? He loosened his grip in hesitation, but tightened it again as the rabbit almost slipped away. Thinking of his struggling mother, he closed his eyes and beared his teeth. If he had to do this he wasn’t going to watch. He plunged his mouth down, but snapped on open air. He didn’t even know he was in the air until he wasn’t. His breath was knocked out of him and he struggled to retain consciousness. His ears rang and stars swam in his vision, but he pushed them away, attempting to make out his attacker in the darkness.

Suddenly, a hideous, grinning face filled his vision and scared his thoughts of passing out away. He tried to twist away, but the paw of another pinned him down. He whined, and their cruel laughter cut through the ringing in his ears. Beyond the face of the one mouthing words just inches from his face, he saw two more of the creatures fighting over the rabbit. The sight of the poor creature already dead and mutilated made his blood run cold.

Hideous Face kicked him, and he couldn’t ignore the searing pain. He whimpered again. Now, voices:

“No, the head is mine!”

“Then I get the leg!”

“Helllooo, are you deaf?”

“If he can’t talk, do you think Boss will let us kill him?”

“Shut up you fools!”

Hideous Face scampered away, and a huge one of the creatures sauntered into Umuso’s limited field of vision, evidently the one they called Boss. He snatched the rabbit from the two that were fighting over it before standing before Umuso and dangling it in his face.

“So you’re the pup that found this, ey?” he growled, looking at him skeptically.

Umuso gulped, unable to speak through the pain in his side, but nodded when he saw Hideous Face rear back to kick him again.

“Where?”

Umuso didn’t respond.

“Kid, it would be smart of you to respond,” Again, Umuso was silent. Even if he could talk, what was he supposed to say? He had been lost.

“Tell us where the burrow is, and we’ll let you live,” Boss growled, putting his massive face where Hideous Face’s had been. Umuso closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to show that he didn’t know, but the beast didn’t catch on.

Boss growled again, and this time it took on a furious edge. Umuso peaked one eye open in time to see him motion to Hideous Face, who eagerly latched on to Umuso’s hind leg and hoisted him to eye level with Boss.

“Last chance, kid. I’m going to ask you one more time. Where did you find the rabbit?” With every word, Hideous Face’s grip tightened, and Umuso managed to squeak out some words with his whimper.

“I… don’t… know,”

This was, of course, not the answer Boss wanted. Hideous Face bit down as if he was trying to snap his leg in half, and Umuso shrieked as the bones snapped and muscles ripped. Boss, whose eyes had taken on a crazed appearance, lunged for him and knocked him out of Hideous Face’s grip, ripping his leg apart even more, and barkly furiously all the while. The others that had been watching rushed forward, and all Umuso knew were teeth, claws, and pain. Right before Umuso passed out from the agony of it all, a booming, lion roar split the air, and then it all went black.

I was there on the day that your world changed
You were scared, unprepared for the heartbreak
Everything you knew faded out of view
Stole a piece of you

When Umuso awoke, brilliant sunlight filled his eyes and a cool, sweet breeze washed over him. His mind was foggy, but this had to be heaven.

Pain: there had been claws, teeth, and growling. Crazed anger. But what had happened?

He lifted his head, surprised by the lack of pain, and his eyes settled on a lion, fur like pure gold even when silhouetted by the sun, as if he weren’t really a lion at all but more a figment of Umuso’s imagination.

“How do you feel?” The deep voice seemed to come from inside Umuso’s head rather than the lion, but he wasn’t afraid.

“Good,” he said, but his voice was hoarse and feeble compared to the other’s. “What happened?”

“Evil cannot persist in the presence of good,” the answer was simple but complicated at the same time.

“What about my injuries?”

“See for yourself,” When the golden lion didn’t move to help him, Umuso stood, but something didn’t feel right. Nothing hurt, it just, didn’t feel the same. Confused, he twisted his head to look at himself. His mouth dropped open. Where once his normal hind leg had been, now stood a twisted, sorry looking appendage. It was thin, and the joint twisted so that the couple toes that remained pointed outward at an odd angle. Even weirder, though, were the glowing, white, scar-like figures that appeared on his gaskin.

Before Umuso could think of anything to ask, the voice sounded again in his mind, “I did as much for you as I could while still leaving a lesson for you. You couldn’t live with all those wounds, but I never did mind a couple symbolic scars. Besides, I should think that this new setback will do to make you stronger, if you can learn to harness the gift I have given you. As for your leg, I assumed you would rather have your life.”

If I could, oh, I would be your hero
Be the one who would take all the arrows
Save you from the pain, carry all the weight
But I know that you're brave

When Umuso still didn’t respond, he added, “Of course, I could always return you to your former situation if you would prefer.”

This offer made Umuso find his voice, “No, this is fine, I mean, perfect, thank you, sir!” But when Umuso tore his eyes from his crippled leg to meet the lion’s eyes, he only saw a single lioness in the distance, running for him like Umuso had never seen her run before. Temporarily forgetting his new situation, Umuso was flooded with relief and raised his paw to wave. When he did, though, he found himself to be waving a perfectly harvested steak, too. He dropped it and stepped back, dumbfounded. Before him was a stretch of leather under a pile of meat large enough to sustain him and his mother for months.

His mother didn’t even cast it an eye, though. Nor did she bother to slow down. She rammed into him and tackled him to the ground in a hug, showering him with kisses as if she hadn’t seen him in years. But, then again, who knew how long it had been?

Only after she had practically smothered him with affection and asked him a million questions (most of which he couldn’t remember the answers to) did she notice his leg and the meat. The sun was beginning its descent before Umuso’s mother was satisfied with his answers.

As they started their journey back, meat pile in tow, her words began.

“Umuso, I’m so sorry,” (“No need, really,”)  “I know I haven’t always been here for you like I should,” (“Really, Ma, it’s okay,”) “But I want to change that. When you went missing I realized how ungrateful I am for all that I do have. I could never have asked for a better son. I see your father in you, have I ever told you that?” (She hadn’t, in fact, even mentioned his father before. This statement sent a shiver down Umuso’s spine.) “And Umuso?” (“Yes, Ma?”) “Your leg doesn’t change anything. You are still the strongest lion I know,” (Even though he was also the only lion she knew at the present.) “I’m sure God has a purpose for saving you,” (“God?”) “And you will go on to do great things. You life will be rough,” (“Wait, did you say God?”) “But I know for a fact that you will get through it. You see, this is a gift from Him,” (“As in, God?”) “and he will see to it that you use it for good, my beautiful boy.”

Fight on, fighter
Don't let anyone steal your fire
Fight on, fighter
The Spirit is alive inside ya, yeah

“Mom, stop for just a second, please! Did you say God?” Umuso’s mother paused to glance over at him, confused.

“Well, yes-”

“You think that lion I talked to was God?”

“Well, yes-”

“But that’s impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible!” She started off ahead of him again. “In fact, I would argue that this is highly plausible. He saved you, didn’t He?”

Now it was Umuso’s turn to reply, “Well, yes-”

“And you said He was golden like the sun and spoke inside you, right? And that He spoke of a gift and your future? And vanished into thin air, right?”

“Well, yes-”

“So then who else could it have been, my boy? God has blessed you! And the gift He spoke of! My boy, you will be a wonder!”

Even so, in the years to come, Umuso forgot about any mention of his so-called “gift.” It was enough for him to try to navigate life on three good legs, much less try to add more to it, even if they never had to hunt again. Oh, yeah, that pile of meat? It never depleted, never spoiled. That was a gift in and of itself.

The other gift, though, was not as easy to find. Umuso keep on the ready for years, but when it finally came, he wasn’t expecting it.

As Umuso grew older, so did his mother. Somehow, though, Umuso stayed youthful and young. Although his mother, though, had her days. Most of the time nothing bothered her, but when she was down, it was hard to get back up and keep going. One of these particular spells seemed as if it would never end, but Umuso refused to consider what might happen. In his mind, his mother couldn’t die as long as he was around to care for her. Little did he know how right he was. Every night, the two would pray together, and every night, his mother would go to bed feeling a little bit better. The next morning, though, she would feel bad again. So, Umuso began to experiment. He prayed for longer, louder, and different prayers. He sang, and he whispered chants, until one day it happened.

His mother was worse than she had ever been. As he pleaded over her, he was hit with memories of his first night, of his father’s death, his siblings’ still forms, and his mother’s grief. Their internal pain and suffering became his own, and he shuddered and grimaced, but he didn’t stop praying. Then, he remembered all the days and nights he had spent with his mother but still alone as she grieved. He remembered his night of greatest need, and how God had delivered. Again, he was met with a feeling of intense suffering, but still he pleaded for a miracle. From beyond his closed eyelids came a flash of bright, white light. He opened his eyes and squinted up at a golden lion, illuminated by the glow of the runes on his leg. In an instant, the light went out and the figure vanished, but his mother drew in a shaky breath and struggled to her feet. In her eyes, Umuso saw a rekindled light, and then he knew. He knew his gift and his purpose. He knew that his mother no longer needed him but that he needed to set out on his own. God had given him a gift, and he intended to use it for its full potential.

There's a power that you hold, that you lock down
Let it breathe, give it wings, set it free now
Time to make your mark, break the prison bars
Show them who you are